Tube forming machine



Dec. 5, 1933. QNT| TUBE FORMING MACHINE Filed NOV. 8, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 0 Eugene Cam 9' 6.3m: BY

2 ATTORNEYS Dec. 5, 1933. E. CONT! TUBE FORMING MACRINE Filed Nov. 8. 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Eugene Con/i A'ITORNEYS D86. 5, 1933. CONT] TUBE FORMING MACHINE Filed Nov. 8, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Eugene Con/l Dec. 5, 1933. o

TUBE FORMING MACHINE Filed Nov. 8, 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR [age/7e Cm/i 5 BY C Q 6 ATTORNEYS E. CONTI TUBE FORMING MACHINE Filed NOV. 8. 1929 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 005 iIIW N n V V a? nu W INVENTOR [age/7e (bn/i Patented Dec. 5, 1933 UNITED STATES TUBE FORBIING MACHINE Eugene Conti, Mount Vernon, N. Y., assignor to Alexander Herz, New Rochelle, N. Y.

Application November 8, 1929. Serial No. 405,564

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to machines for forming paper tubes.

The invention contemplates the provision of mechanism for forming a continuous tube, and mechanism for cutting off predetermined lengths thereof while the formed tube is being fed continuously forward from the forming mechanism.

The speed of operation of machines of this character is usually limited by the speed at which the cutoff mechanism can be effectively operated without unduly mutilating the tubes at the point of severing and without too great strain upon the cut-off mechanism or other parts of the machlne. The present invention has for an object to provide an improved machine of this character having a cut-oil mechanism which will be effective in use and which may be operated at high speed.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The nature and objects of the invention will be better understood from a description of a particular illustrative embodiment thereof, and for the' purpose of such description reference should be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof and in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the illustrative embodiment of the invention;

Fig. la is a detail showing the manner in which the strips of stock are fed to and wound upon the mandrel, and showing the relation of the strips to the winding tape;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine; Fig. 3 is an elevation looking at the opposite side to that shown in Fig. 2 and Figs. 4 to l0 inclusive are detail views of the cut-off mechanism, Figs. 6 to 10 inclusive being sections substantially on the correspondingly numbered lines on Fig. 4.

This illustrative embodiment of the invention includes a bed .15, which is supported by legs 16 and in turn sustains the operating parts of the machine.

A mandrel, which isof the stationary type and round in cross-section, is supported, in sub stantially horizontal position, at one end only and is free at its other end. The support for this 'mandrelincludes a post 17 rigidly associated with and extending upwardly from the bed 15. This mandrel 18 is mounted in the post for horizontal adjustment and is secured in its various adjusted positions by means such as a set screw.

In order that the strips of stock may be wound upon the stationary mandrel to form a round tube, a bolster 20 is provided which extends transversely of the bed in a predetermined relation to the mandrel, and beneath the same. Cross heads 21 and 22 extend upwardly from the ends of the bolster 20, and respectively support horizontally disposed pulleys 23 and 24, which are rigid with vertically downwardly extending shafts 25 and 26, having bearings in the cross heads and having rigid with their lower ends beveled gears 27 and 28, which mesh with similar gears 29 on a shaft 30. This shaft 30 extends longitudinally of the bolster and is supported adjacent the gears 29 in the cross heads 21 and 22, and at an intermediate point by a bearing 31, being actuated in a manner which will later be described.

A winding tape passes around the pulleys and 24 with the reaches of the tape crossed between the pulleys. One reach 32 extends directly from one pulley to the other, while the other reach 33 is wrapped about the mandrel several times so as to provide means for engaging and forming the strips of stock into the continuous tube. Tensioning rollers 34 are mounted adjustably on the cross heads 21 and 22, and engage the reach 32 of the winding tape. The disposition of the bolster with relation to the mandrel is such that the turns of the reach 33 about the mandrel will, in the formation of the tube, result in the proper overlapping of the strips of stock and the proper feeding of the tube of the diameterbeing made.

The pulleys 23 and 24 are actuated by the shaft 30 to draw the winding tape around the stationary mandrel. The shaft 30 receives its motion through the intermeshing of beveled gears 35 and 36, the latter being rigid on the shaft 30, and the former rigid with a gear 3'1 which meshes with a similar but smaller gear 38 rigid with a shaft 39 extending through the'bolster and-hav ing a bearing in the bed'15. The speed of the shaft 30, and consequently the speed of rotation of the pulleys 23 and 24, may be varied by changing the ratio of the gears actuating the same. For instance the gears 37 and 38 preferably are so mounted that they may be removed and replaced by other gears to change the ratio between the same.

Thus the speed of the winding tape. may be varied to accommodate it to'the different conditions of the tube being formed. That is to say the slipping of the tape may be overcome and the rate of formation of the tube may be controlled without changing the rapidity of action of the related parts of the machine. Thus with the cut-off mechanism actuated at a constant rate the gears 37 and 38 may be changed to change the rate at which the tube is formed and fed to the cut-off mechanism. Consequently, the length of the cutoff portion of the tube may be varied.

A beveled gear 40 is rigid with the lower end of this shaft 39 and meshes with a similar gear 41 on a shaft 42 which is supported in bearings 42, depending from the bed 15 of the machine. This shaft 42 extends longitudinally beneath the bed 15 so that it will be most conveniently located, not only for the actuation of the winding tape pulleys 23 and 24, but also for the other units of the machine, as will later appear. This shaft 42 is actuated by the intermeshing of a beveled gear 43, which is rigid therewith, and a pinion 44 on a transverse pulley shaft 45. The shaft 45 is actuated by a belt which passes around the pulley 46 on the end of the shaft, and around the pulley on the commutator shaft of a motor 47, the motor conveniently being supported by a suitable frame extending between the legs 16.

- Means is provided for feeding strips of stock, such as paper, under tension to the mandrel in proper angular relation thereto, and supplied with the desired adhesive to cause the strips to adhere to each other, and with a lubricant to reduce the friction between the mandrel and the strips as they are wound into a tube and fed from the mandrel in the form of a tube. This means in cludes mechanism for applying a lubricant to one of the strips, that is, the one which comes into direct contact with the mandrel, and includes also a mechanism for applying adhesive to the other strip so that when it is wound upon the previously wound lubricant-carrying strip it will adhere to the outer face thereof, and result in the formation of a rigid tube.

The embodiment of this means illustrated includes a carrier bar '48 which extends substantially vertically from, and is rigid with, an extension 49'of the bed 15. This carrier bar is provided, both above and below the bed 15, with removable trunnions 50 which extend from both sides of the bar and through a guide 51, the latter being held in spaced relation to the bar. The trunnions 50 are adapted to support rolls 52 of strip stock, so'that a pair of rolls will be disposed above the bed 15 and. if desired, a pair of rolls may be disposed below the bed 15.

By this arrangement, the minimum time will be consumed in threading new strips of stock to the mandrel after the strips from one pair of supply rolls are consumed. For instance, presuming that the strip stock is being fed from the upper supply rolls 52, shown in Fig. 2, the lower supply rolls 52 are in readiness to be threaded when the upper rolls 52 are exhausted.

Channeled guides 53 and 54 are mounted on suitable supports 53' and 54', above the bed of the machine, and are arranged in suitable angular relationship to the mandrel to respectively accommodate the strips 55 and 56, which pass from the supply rolls beneath a guide roller 57. Each of these channeled guides is provided with a suitable tensioning device. sion the strips as they pass to the mandrel and are wound into the form of a tube.

The strip 55 passes directly from the channeled guide 53 to the mandrel and-forms the base of the tube on which the adhesive-coated strip 56 is wound. In order that the face of the strip 55 which contacts with the stationary mandrel may be lubricated to reduce the friction between the mandrel and the tube as the latter is formed and fed along the mandrel, I have enla ged the end These devices tenr -applying roll 61, Fig. 2, mounted on a shaft 62 and dipping into an adhesive-supply reservoir 63 supported on a standard 64 extending upwardly from the bed of the machine and independent of the bolster 20. The rotation of the roll 61 is accomplished by means such as beveled gears 65 and 66, Fig. 1, the former being rigid with the shaft 62 and the latter with a vertical shaft 67, Fig. 2, which is actuated by intermeshing beveled gears 68 and 69, the gear 69 being rigid with the longitudinally disposed shaft 42.

The amount of adhesive carried by the roll 61 to the strip 56 as the latter passes over the-roll may be controlled by means of a roller 70, which is rotated by intermeshing gears 72 and 73, the former being rigid with the roller and the latter with the shaft 62. This roller 70 is normally drawn toward the roll 61 by springs 74, and. against adjustable abutments by means of which the space between the roller 70 and the adhesiveapplying roll 61 is-controlled to thereby control the amount of adhesive applied to the strip 56 as it passes over the roll 61.

Thus the strip 55 is lubricated before it reaches the mandrel, and consequently the frictionbetween the mandrel and the strip is reduced to a minimum; and the strip 56 is onits under surface coated wtih adhesive, so that when it is wound on the previously wound strip; 55 it will adhere thereto and form a rigid tube.

As the formed tube is fed from the mandrel 18 it passes longitudinally .of the machine and through a guide sleeve 81, which sleeve passes through and is supported in the upper end of a vertically extending member .82. Themember 82 conveniently is secured to one end of the bed 15.

Q In order that the tube, as it is continuously formed and fed from the mandrel 18 through the guide sleeve 81, may be'cut into predetermined lengths without interrupting the continuous movement of the tube, and without distorting it, means is provided for severing the tube, which means operates very quickly while the tube is moving. The embodiment of this means illustrated in the drawings includes a cutting blade 90 which operates in a path transverse to the direction of movement of the tube.

As shown in Figs. 4 to 9 inclusive, the cutting blade 90 comprises a sharp edge on the end of one arm of a bell crank,lever 87. The lever 87 is pivotally mounted at 99 on a carrier slide 83. The other arm of the lever 87 is connected to one end of a spiral spring 88, which spring is attached at its other end to the slide 83. The spring 88 biases the lever 87 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figs. 4 and 5, turning movement of the lever under the influence of the spring being limited by engagement of the lever arm with a stud 89 mounted in the vertically extending member 82.

The slide 83 rests in a vertical channel in the member 82, and is held therein by the overhanganism.

ing plates 84 secured to the flanges of the channel. I

Preferably the tud 89 is so located relative to the pivoted lever 87, that when the slide 83 is in the upper part of its stroke, the cutting blade 90 will be turned to the right of a plane passing through the axes of the lever pivot and the guide sleeve 81. As the slide 83 moves downwardly, the engagement of the stud 89 with the arm of the lever 87 turns the lever 8''! to the left, and in the lower part of its stroke the cutting blade 90 will lie to the left of a plane through the axes of the lever pivot and the guide sleeve. The length of the blade-carrying arm of the lever 8'7, and its pivotal axis on the slide 83 are so chosen that as the cutting-blade arm of the lever 87 moves to the left during the downward movement of the slide 83, the blade 90 passes below, and does not traverse the path of movement of the tube through the guide sleeve 81.

Referring to the drawings, the arm of the lever 87 carrying the cutting blade has a lug 91. As the lever is turned to the left during downward movement of the slide 83, the lug slidingly engages and is held by the downwardly hooked end of a pivotally-mounted latch 92 to prevent turning movement of the lever 87 to the right. To prevent accidental release of the latch, a spiral spring 93 is provided connecting the rear end of the latch and a stud in the slide 83. Turning movement of the latch underthe influence of the spring 93 is limited by a stud 94.

As the slide 83 moves upwardly, the lever 8'7 is held by the latch 92 against turning movement until the slide nears the upper edge of its stroke and the lever is sufficiently close to bring the blade 90 within range of the path of movement of the tube. When this point is reached, the rear end of the latch 92 engages a stop 95 secured on the flange of the channel shape. As the slide continues to move upwardly, the stop acts as a cam to turn the latch to the left, whereupon the hook end of the latch releases the lug 91 and permits the lever 87 to be snapped to the right at a high rate of speed, under the influence of the spring 88, and sever the tube without distortion or buckling.

.Means are provided for moving the slide along the channel of the member 82 toward and away from the guide sleeve 81. Conveniently such means comprises a connecting arm 85 pivotally s cured at one end to the slide 83, and at the other end eccentrically to a wheel 86. The wheel 86 is mounted on one end ofthe shaft 42, which extends through the member 82. Thus it will be seen that during operation of the machine the rotation of the shaft 42 and wheel 86 causes the slide 83 to reciprocate vertically in the channel of the member 82, and the tube will be severed once for each complete reciprocation of the slide.-

Means is provided for delivering the cut-off portions of the tube from the tube severing mech- Conveniently such means comprises a bracket 96 which extends outwardly from the channel shape 82 and carries the vertical plate 9'1. Guide fingers 98 extend from the upper edge of this plate 9'1 in substantially horizontal positions, and thence downwardly in spaced relation to the plate, thus providing a delivery opening through which the cut-off portions of the tube will drop after having been cast against the plate 9''! during the cut-off operation, and having been guided downwardly between the plate and the fingers 98.

Summarizing the operation of the machine, the strips 55 and 56 of the stock are fed to the stationary mandrel 18, the former supplied on its under face, that is, the face which contacts with the mandrel, with oil and the latter supplied on its under face, which engages the previously wrapped strip 55, with adhesive. The passage of these strips between the turns of the winding tape and the mandrel winds them into a continuous tube, and feeds the tube longitudinally of the mandrel to the cut-off mechanism, the cutting blade 90 of which latter mechanism periodically traverses the path of movement of the tube and cuts the tube into predetermined lengths. These cut-ofi portions are guided by the delivery mechanism to a suitable receptacle or mechanism for subsequently operating on the tubes.

The description of the illustrative embodiment is not intended as defining the limits of the invention, and it will be understood that the invention may be variously modified and embodied within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a tube-forming machine, in combination, a mandrel, means for helically winding strips of material about said mandrel to form a substantially rigid tube and for continuously feeding the formed tube from said mandrel, and means for severing the formed tube into predetermined lengths comprising a pivoted cutting blade mounted on a carrier movable toward and away from the axis of the tube, means for moving said carrier toward and away from the axis of the tube, means operative when said carrier nears the axis of the tube to cause the blade to traverse the path of movement of the tube at a high rate of speed, and means to cause the blade to return to its initial position after the carrier has been moved away from the axis of the tube, whereby the tube may be severed without distortion or buckling.

2. In a tube-forming machine, in combination, a mandrel, means for helically winding strips of material about said mandrel to form a substantially rigid tube and for continuously feeding the formed tube from said mandrel, and means for severing the formed tube into predetermined lengths comprising a cutting blade mounted on a carrier movable toward and away from the axis of the tube, means for moving said carrier toward and away from the axis of the tube, means operative when said carrier nears the axis of the tube to cause the blade to traverse the path of movement of the tube at a relatively high rate of speed, whereby the tube may be severed without distortion or buckling, and means operative when said carrier moves away from the axis of the tube to reset the blade for the next tube-severing operation.

3. In a tube-forming machine, in combination, means for forming a substantially rigid tube, means for continuously feeding the formed tube from said forming means, and means for severing the formed tube into predetermined lengths comprising a pivoted cutting blade, means for turning'the blade about its pivotal axis in one direction to cause the blade to traverse the path of movement of the tube, means for turning the blade back in the other direction, and means operative concurrently with said last mentioned means to prevent the blade from traversing the path of movement of the tube.

EUGENE CONTI. 

